Penguins could trade Kasperi Kapanen as they seek cap relief

On Thursday’s edition of Daily Faceoff Live, hosts Frank Seravalli and Colby Cohen reviewed the former’s latest trade deadline big board. Kasperi Kapanen could be actively shopped as the Pittsburgh Penguins try to create cap space for the returning Jan Rutta.

Colby Cohen: The Penguins have a forward in Kasperi Kapanen who’s back on your list after a little bit of hiatus, he’s a guy you’ve had on here before. What’s the latest in Pittsburgh, Frank?

Frank Seravalli: This is actually one that is time sensitive. I think this is a trade that could come sooner rather than later. I’m told that Penguins’ GM Ron Hextall sent notes to managers over the past couple of days notifying them that Kasperi Kapanen is available. From the teams that I’ve talked to there’s actually been a surprising amount of interest in Kapanen. 

If I’m reading CapFriendly correctly the reason for that is because the Penguins have had a hard time activating defenseman Jan Rutta. If they want to activate Rutta, there’s going to have to be some kind of cap consequence, whether that’s someone going on waivers or the Penguins ripping the band-aid off and trading Kasperi Kapanen. He’s got one more year left on his deal at $3.2M. He’s a skill player, someone that can score, and he’s streaky at times. For the most part, he has been a huge disappointment for the Pittsburgh Penguins in their bottom six.

It feels like if the Penguins are going to move off of Kapanen and that additional year on his deal they, wouldn’t have to pay much and they wouldn’t get much in return. Keep an eye on that because they desperately want Jan Rutta back in their lineup.